1961 · Album
Up at Minton's, Volume 2
Recorded February 23, 1961 · Blue Note · Produced by Not provided in source material
The Sound of a Player Finding His Voice
Turrentine here captures something rare: a young musician already knowing exactly what he wants to say.
In early 1961, Stanley Turrentine was still assembling the language that would define him. He wasn't yet the soul-jazz fixture he'd become, but he wasn't a newcomer either. Up at Minton's, Volume 2 sits right at that threshold—recorded live on a single night with Grant Green on guitar, Horace Parlan on piano, George Tucker on bass, and Al Harewood on drums. This was early in his productive musical life, the moment when his soulful approach was crystallizing into something distinctive.
The repertoire sticks to standards and blues, the kind of material that reveals how a player actually thinks. There's no room to hide in these songs. What comes through is Turrentine's tone—warm, direct, never ornamental—and his refusal to oversell anything. The rhythm section locks tight, the kind of simpatico you only hear in places like Minton's, where musicians played together constantly and understood each other without discussion. AllMusic reviewer Scott Yanow caught this precisely, noting that the music gives listeners "a definitive look at the soulful Mr. T. near the beginning of his productive musical life." The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings rated it 3.5 out of 4, which means the critics heard something genuine here.
This isn't his masterpiece or his boldest statement. It's something better in its own way: proof that Turrentine had already found the core of what he did best. The album was later released as a double CD set, pairing both volumes together, which makes sense—they're two sides of the same night, the same conviction. If you want to hear Turrentine before the fame and the studio arrangements, before he became a household name in soul-jazz circles, this is where to listen.
Who's playing
George Tuckerbass
Horace Parlanpiano
Grant Greenguitar
Stanley Turrentinetenor saxophone
Al Harewoodmembranophone
Where next?
More by Stanley Turrentine
All 64 albums →
The musicians on this record
Their own records, close in time
